#again i googled terms of endearment for italians dont hate me if the translation is wrong

[analogwriting]

Star-Crossed

Chapter 6: Sydän

Donquixote Rosinante x gn!reader word count: 2k a/n: snurprise you're getting two bc i made it too girthy lmfao. pulcino = chick (as in baby chicken), cucciolo = cub, angelo = angel next

To say that the air shifted was a massive understatement. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife and you just knew the receptionists were holding their breath as they watched. 

You could feel Corazon’s eyes on you as you walked over to your father and he greeted you with a kiss on both cheeks accompanied by a tight hug. “Oh, my child. I have missed you.” His voice was warm as he smiled at you.

“I missed you too. Let’s go talk in my office, yeah?” You turned, leading your dad down the hallway. You refused to look at Corazon. You could feel the emotions radiating off of him and not a single one of them was positive. There was confusion, betrayal, anger, just about everything there. The feeling of guilt began to wash over you. Maybe you should’ve been honest from the beginning? Told him who you were? Too late now.

Marco was standing in the hallway, staring with wide eyes. He looked as white as a sheet and you knew why. This was one of the worst possible outcomes that could’ve happened. 

“Marco, my boy!” Your father greeted him with a large smile. “How’s your pops? Are you keeping him out of trouble?” He greeted the man the same way he greeted you. After all, he was your best friend and basically your brother at this point. He knew your dad and his father was your father’s best friend. Marco was family as far as he was concerned.

Marco gave a sheepish laugh, hugging him back. “Oh, you know. He’s just like he always is. Stubborn and overbearing sometimes.” He cast you a nervous glance and you shook your head. You had no idea what to do right now. You had no idea how you were going to explain this. Corazon was definitely going to hate you after this. Hell, you didn’t even know why your father was here.

Continuing back on to your office, you closed the door after your father and the two accompanying him. “What the hell are you thinking?” You looked at your father with a look of bewilderment, your eyes wide and wild.

“What? Can I not visit my own child at their place of work?”

“No! You know that! And you know why you can’t either!” You covered your face with your hands, groaning loudly before plopping in your chair behind your desk. You sat there for a moment before looking at your father. “What was so important that you had to come to me unannounced?” You were irritated. You didn’t enjoy being thrown wrenches in your perfectly oiled machines. It threw off your entire day.

“I just wanted to see you, pulcino.” He frowned, looking genuinely hurt. You let out a long sigh, feeling bad. You didn’t mean to snap at him, but everything was just happening all at once. “I know it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, papi, but you can’t just spring in on me like this. You know how sensitive the general atmosphere of the hospital is. This is a neutral ground so someone like you here with the fact that you’re my father, is going to make people talk. Some people will grow suspicious.”

“But not many people even know you’re my child. I hardly showed you to the world. You killed the few that saw you the one night I tried to put you on the field. You even took Edward Newgate’s name when you left the family to help hide the fact we’re related.” He frowned deeply. You knew that he hated that fact. It was something he understood, but it didn’t mean he was happy with it.

You let out another sigh. “I know, I know. I’m sorry, papi. I’m not ashamed of being your child, I just didn’t want people to be scared to receive care here.” You shook your head, smiling. “I am happy to see you. Just…shocked is all.”

“And bad timing?” He folded his arms, narrowing his eyes at you. You cocked an eyebrow at his sudden change of demeanor.

“What is the missing Donquixote doing here in your hospital?” 

You blinked, thinking for a moment. You shook your head. “Just the same as everyone else. Either know someone here or getting treatment.” 

“He sure didn’t look like that. He seemed very comfortable with you.” 

“Well, his son does work here.” 

“Oh? I didn’t know he had one.”

“Yeah, apparently. His son is one of my interns. Smart kid. I’m assuming that’s why he went ‘missing.’ It’s not like Doflamingo is as kind as you are. He probably wasn’t going to just let him leave that easily.”

“Does Doflamingo know he’s back?”

You shrugged, shaking your head. “I have no idea. We’ve never talked about the past or anything like that.” 

“But…he was going to ask you out? Without knowing about you? Or you him?”

You nearly choked on your own spit - on air. Your eyes felt like they were going to fall out of your skull with how wide they went. “What are you talking about?” Your father just looked at you with an unamused expression. “Oh, I thought it was obvious.” He looked at the two men with him. “Was it not obvious?”

“It was kind of obvious, boss,” they said in confirmation.

You just stared at him for a long moment, your brain running a million miles an hour. “Huh?” Your brain wasn’t computing. “Oh. Oh. You’re rebooting. I’ll give you a minute.” Your father watched as your brain tried to process what he was telling you. After all, he was your dad. He knew your mannerisms, even if he wasn’t around you all the time. You had always been like this.

Corazon was going to ask you out? Why? That didn’t make any sense. Well, you knew Law and Marco seemed to be trying to play matchmaker, but you didn’t think Corazon was actually interested. Though, you supposed he kind of had to be if Law was trying to set the two of you up. Fuck, this was all too much right now.

Then you snapped back into it.

“Wait, is that why you interrupted when you did?”

Your father nodded, moving on as if your hard reboot was the most normal thing in the world. Which, to him, it was. “Yes. I knew that if I didn’t interrupt when I did, I wouldn’t have a chance to talk to you. It would be way too awkward after.” 

You nodded slowly, still processing but you shook your head. “I’m too busy for all that anyway. Besides, now that he knows who I am, he will lose all interest, yeah?” 

Your father frowned, waving a hand. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. You never know what Fate has up her sleeve.” 

You groaned, rolling your eyes. “Between you, Marco, and pops, Fate is all I hear about.” That caused your father to laugh. “Ed was always a sucker for cliched things like Fate.” He shook his head. 

The both of you just grinned at each other. A somber silence fell over the room. That was something you always appreciated about your father. Sometimes, it was okay to just sit in silence with him. It was never awkward. Then you finally spoke up. “What is this really about, papi?” 

Your father looked at you for a long time before sighing. “Well, I suppose this is one last time I wanted to ask you what you truly wanted. Do you want to stay in this neutral environment you created? Or did you want to come back?” 

You blinked. This was something you weren’t expecting. Why now? Of all times, why now? He only asked once before, but that was years ago. Ever since you had left, he respected your decision. Why was he questioning it now?

You just nodded. “Yes. This is what I want. This hospital is everything I wanted.” You let out a small chuckle. “A place of solace in this toxic land of sin or what have you. A safe haven for everyone. An out for those who need it.” You were talking about more of your underground side of things. It was something you were very proud of.

“I love you, papi. You know that I do, but that violent lifestyle isn’t for me. It’s just too much.” You shook your head and sighed. You wanted to help, not hurt.

“You’re just like her, you know.” You looked up, seeing a fond, pained expression on your father’s face. “You’re just like your mother. She didn’t like this lifestyle either. She just wanted to help everyone like you did.” He let out a hollow chuckle. “You inherited my skills, but your mother’s personality.” 

Your own, sad smile spread across your face. You were young when your mother passed, but you had plenty of fond memories to look back on. They were painful, bittersweet. The both of you loved your mother. She was the light in your life. She taught you many things that you still held in your heart. She was the one who brought warmth to your father’s cold teachings. They had been a good balance at the time.

“Anywho.” Your father sniffled, shaking his head. Talking about your mother never lasted long or ended with tears. Neither of you liked crying, so the conversations about her were always short lived.

“I just wanted to ask. Before I start looking and training for another successor, you know?” 

You nodded, understanding. You knew that since you weren’t taking over the family, someone had to. Even if your father died before he had one set in place, it’s not like the family would fall apart. Eventually someone would rise up to the position, but this was the most surefire way to make sure things run smoothly. Easy transitions and all.

Your father stood up with a groan. “Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I also just wanted to see how things were going here.” He smiled at you warmly, pride showing on his face. “I’m really proud of everything you’ve done. You did it all on your own and that’s no easy feat. No one messes with you and you can hold your own if you try. You’ve got a pristine reputation.”

Your own heart swelled with pride. You stood up, going over to hug your father tightly. “Thank you, papi. It means a lot.” You felt like crying, but you held it in right now. You’d probably break down later over noodles or when you talked to Marco. “ Keep up the good work, tresorino.” You nodded, kissing his cheek before pulling away.

“I will. Stay safe and good luck finding a successor.” You smiled widely at him.

You walked your father to the entrance once more. There was no sign of Corazon. You weren’t surprised. You knew he wasn’t going to stick around. Honestly, you wouldn’t be surprised if you never saw him again. Part of you hurt because of that. You found yourself enjoying being around him. He always made you laugh and felt like you didn’t have the weight of the world crashing down on your shoulders. 

The other part of you knew this was for the best. You both were from the same world, but from opposite sides. You still had one foot in the door as well. You were in contact with your father, you ran your underground hospital. He completely cut off all ties. Hell, his brother wasn’t even sure if he was alive last you knew. 

“Don’t stress about things too much, angelo.” Your thoughts stopped as your father spoke, ruffling your hair. Something he always did when he saw you were thinking a little too much. You were standing by the entrance now. “Things will work out if they’re meant to, yeah?” You nodded with a small sigh. “Yeah, yeah. Fate and all that.” You rolled your eyes, fighting a smile.  “Love you, cucciolo.”

“Love you too, papi.” Your father pressed a kiss to your forehead before finally leaving with his cronies. You waved as he left, reality suddenly hitting you. Ah, fuck. You were really in it now. Where the hell was Marco?